After studying under Peter Voulkos at the Los Angeles County Art Institute, Denver native Paul Soldner (1921–2011) became a pottery professor there in the 1960s, when the revolutionary California Clay Movement took root.
Soldner pioneered American-style raku firing methods, experimental updates of the centuries-old Japanese process, which involve pulling red-hot sculptures out of the kiln to be bathed in smoke or dipped in cold water, resulting in beautifully frazzled glazes.
“These new firing and post-firing reduction methods often led to spontaneous, unpredictable and quite wonderful results,” says Greg Nielson, of Dwell Floor Five, in Studio City, California.
Soldner’s raku vases, for instance, with their charred surfaces, seem to smile humbly through the scars of their past adversity.
Alongside the likes of Toshiko Takaezu, Soldner innovated chunky, funky ceramics in the mid-century and beyond. He is one Voulkos student at whom enthusiasts should take a serious look, advises dealer Jayson Lawfer.
The owner of The Nevica Project, a gallery with venues in Chicago and Kansas City, Lawfer explains that Soldner “was a master of raku and was credited with bringing the historic Asian technique to the U.S.” He adds that “Soldner used simple techniques of throwing pottery on the wheel, but to make his sculptural forms more interesting, he also pressed burlap into the clay and stepped on it to give it different textures."
Find Paul Soldner pottery for sale on 1stDibs.
Poul Soldner Raku-Fired Crazed Pedestal Piece Vessel
By Paul Soldner
Located in Chicago, IL
Poul Soldner Raku-Fired Crazed Pedestal Piece Vessel 1983 marked underside 83-28-6283 Sodner attended the Los Angeles County Art Institute, and became Peter Voulkos's first student i...
Ceramic
Poul Soldner Raku-Fired Crazed Pedestal Piece
By Paul Soldner
Located in Chicago, IL
Paul Soldner Raku-Fired Crazed Pedestal Piece, Exhibited and published in Paul Soldner "A Retrospective" 1991 Page 97, Pedestal Piece (84-49) 1984, c...
Ceramic
Ceramic 'Pedestal Piece' Vessel by Paul Soldner
By Paul Soldner
Located in Dallas, TX
Paul Soldner (American, 1921-2011) was an early pupil of legendary, abstract expressionist potter Peter Voulkos. He also did pioneering work in raku, the 16th century technique which...
Ceramic
Paul Soldner California Studio Stoneware Pottery Vase
By Paul Soldner
Located in Palm Springs, CA
A spouted stoneware bottleneck vase with tenmoku glaze created by Paul Soldner of Claremont, California, circa 1960. Vase stands 9 1/8" in height and is signed Soldner on the bottom....
Stoneware
Paul Soldner Abstract Expressionist Studio Ceramic Vase
By Paul Soldner
Located in Phoenix, AZ
Paul Soldner (1921-2010) abstract expressionist pottery vase. Glaze in black and brown, partly unglazed. Excellent design, mint condition. Signed Soldner on the bottom. Measures: 10" H x 8 3/4" W. Paul Soldner (1921-2011) was an American ceramic artist, noted for his experimentation with the 16th...
Clay
American Raku Pottery Vessel by Paul Soldner
By Paul Soldner
Located in Atlanta, GA
A modern pottery vessel by American potter Paul Soldner (1921-2011) circa 1960s. Paul Soldner is renowned for his dedication to develop and further Raku firing in American pottery fi...
Pottery
$2,620Sale Price|20% Off
H 23.25 in W 6.75 in D 6.5 in
1970 Brutalist Studio Pottery Floor Vase by Inge
Located in New Windsor, NY
Handmade slab built monumental Brutalist pottery vase. Meticulously decorated and glazed with organic and geometric patterns and shapes. Applied neck. Signed and dated, Inge, 70 a th...
Stoneware
Hand-built Raku-fired Wabi Sabi Ikebana Vase
By MONDAYS
Located in Brooklyn, NY
One-of-a-kind raku-fired vase. Wide and low with a small foot, and small opening. Made in our Brooklyn studio then fired in a New Jersey back yard, All dimensions are approximate...
Ceramic
Ceramic Vase, Glazed Stoneware Vase, Ciboure Pottery, France, circa 1925
By Ciboure
Located in New York, NY
One of a set of beautiful ceramics from Ciboure Pottery, this piece is inspired by antiquity—evident in its form, its spare coloring, and its depiction of classical figures. Produced...
Stoneware
American Indian Michael Hawley Pottery Vessel
Located in Dallas, TX
A fabulous Michael Hawley, Chakoptewa pottery vessel made using traditional Hopi methods. Michael Hawley, of Scottsdale, Arizona, is the only living potter today creating true Siky...
Clay, Paint
MCM California Studio Pottery Stoneware Vase
Located in San Diego, CA
A very nice MCM California studio pottery stoneware vase with brown earth tones, circa 1970s. The vessel is in very good vintage condition with no chips...
Pottery
Large Signed Native American Style Raku Pottery Vase
Located in Lake Worth, FL
Large signed Native American style 2 tone crackle glaze hand thrown Raku pottery vase Approximate measurements in inches 14" high x 13" wide ...
Ceramic, Pottery
Tourmaline #3 Ceramic Vessel by Thom Lussier
By Thom Lussier
Located in New York, NY
From the Tourmaline series by Thom Lussier, hand-crafted exclusively for Cafiero Select. #3 Has one half moon crawl on the exterior. The metallic thin l...
Stoneware
Vintage Gerald Hong Modernist Raku Studio Vessel c1980s California
Located in Oakland, CA
Gorgeous vintage modern raku vessel by noted Northern California artist, Gerald Hong. Hong is recognized for his innovative approach to raku ceramics, blen...
Clay
Vintage Boho Raku Fired Vase
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A fantastic vintage Boho vase. A chic Raku crackle finish in the most beautiful pale pink. Flashes of green peeking thru. Signed on the bottom. Acquired from a Palm Beach estate
Clay
Tourmaline #15 Ceramic Vessel by Thom Lussier
By Thom Lussier
Located in New York, NY
From the Tourmaline series by Thom Lussier, hand-crafted exclusively for Cafiero Select. #15 Balances atop a Palladium metallic ring. The lantern form h...
Stoneware
Large Modernist Raku Fired Abstract Pottery Vase by Tony Evans
By Tony Evans
Located in Miami, FL
Large abstract form raku fired ceramic vase on lucite base by renowned master ceramicist Tony Evans (1942-2009). Evans developed a very distinctive style after studying ancient potte...
Ceramic, Pottery
Ruskin Pottery Ceramic Vase, Glazed Stoneware, 1927
By Ruskin Pottery
Located in New York, NY
Ruskin Pottery ceramic vase is made of hand thrown drip glazed stoneware. Impressed signature and date to underside: [Ruskin England 1927]. About the studio: "The Ruskin Pottery ...
Ceramic
Sold
H 14.5 in W 9 in D 5 in
Paul Soldner Signed Large Raku Fired Mid-Century Modern Vessel Sculpture Vase
By Paul Soldner
Located in Studio City, CA
A rather unique and special piece by renowned American potter Paul Soldner who in the 1950s was Peter Voulkos' first student and later became famed for developing the technique now known as "American Raku", a practice of using low temperature salt firing...
Earthenware